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The Hebrew Prophets and Their Social World: An Introduction
Victor Matthews, a veteran teacher and expert on the world of ancient Israel, introduces students to the Hebrew prophets and their social world. Drawing on archaeology and ancient Near Eastern texts, Matthews examines the prophets chronologically, placing them and their message into historical context. He explores pertinent aspects of historical geography, economic conditions, and social forces that influenced a prophet's life and message and explains why prophets served an integral purpose in the development of ancient Israelite religion. He also explores how prophets addressed their audience and employed rhetorical methods, images, and metaphors to communicate effectively. Logically organized, clearly written, and classroom friendly, this book meets the needs of beginning as well as advanced students. It is a substantially revised and expanded edition of the successful text Social World of the Hebrew Prophets.
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2012
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57 people want to read
About the author
Victor H. Matthews
37 books15 followersVictor Harold Matthews (PhD, Brandeis University) is dean of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs and professor of religious studies at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. He is the author of numerous books, including Manners and Customs in the Bible, Studying the Ancient Israelites, Old Testament Turning Points, and The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Genesis–Deuteronomy.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 5, 2013
The Hebrew prophets, their life and writings formulate a rather large section of the Old Testament corpus, however, how much do believers really comprehend about their life and writings to include the world in which they lived and prophesied? We certainly enjoy the stories about Elijah calling down fire from heaven, the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53 and that weeping prophet Jeremiah, but do we know much about the events that caused Elijah to do battle against the prophets of Baal, why Israel was in exile, and what caused Jeremiah to weep? Dr. Victor Matthews, in his book The Hebrew Prophets and Their Social World is a much needed resource for those who have only a glancing familiarity with the prophets of old as well as those who possibly have a more advanced level of understanding of their life and times.
As Matthews rightly notes in the introduction of this book, “when prophets speak, they do so within the social, economic, and historical context of their own time. They are primarily concerned either with current events or recent happenings, and not the far future.” Now a student of Scripture may correctly comment the prophets also spoke about events that have yet to take place and they would be correct. With that said, one must be sure to begin their exegesis of the prophets and their works within the context of the milieu in which the prophets lived. Once that understanding has been established, it is then the exegete can utilize the entirety of Scripture to analyze whether the words of God spoken through the prophets were directed to that immediate time, a future context of both.
Dr. Matthews first guides the reader through an analysis of biblical geography, noting the importance for the reader to “Keep in mind that when the prophets mention a geographic site or feature, they are generally describing a place that they and their audience know intimately.” He spends the majority of this chapter familiarizing the reader with the specifics of the ancient Near East (ANE) to include an overview of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syria-Palestine. Matthews provides an enormous amount of details for the reader to include travel routes, geographical markers, and various cultural nuances that bear great importance for the student of the Hebrew prophets. While this material may seem a bit “dry”, understanding this information is vital in order to understand the time and places the Hebrew prophets live and shared their message. As Matthews aptly states, “Because the prophets constantly refer to geographical regions, cities, and landmarks, a basic knowledge of these features is essential for anyone who studies their words and writings.”
So how does one define and/or describe what a prophet of the ANE is? This is another important question to answer and define in light of passages such as Deuteronomy 18:22 which states “when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” Matthews advises the reader that most, if not all of the ANE nations utilized the services of diviners or priests who attempted to ascertain the will of the gods. He also notes the various ways in which individuals in Scripture performed the office of the prophet. Characters such as Moses, Aaron, and Samuel for example were called prophets although most would not equate those individuals as declaring prophetic words in the same manner as perhaps Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Hosea. Furthermore, in this section Matthews provides a wealth of valuable information in regards to how the prophets functioned within the framework of Israelite society in particular, their relationship to the monarchy. Given prophets such as Elijah regularly declared the word of the Lord to the Kings of Israel and Judah who were leading their people astray, it is important to understand the role of the prophet, who they are, and how to identify them, all of which Matthews does a masterful job of outlining for the reader in a comprehensive and salient manner.
Moving from establishing a fundamental understanding of who the prophets were, what their function was, and how God used them to declare His word to the people, Matthews then moves into a detailed discussion of the prophets themselves, beginning with the premonarchic prophetic period (i.e. the period prior to the establishment of the monarchy). Matthews not only covers the prophets of God such as Moses, he also provides an overview of Balaam. The discussion of Balaam provides an interesting contrast given the different roles Moses and Balaam play in the course of their impact on Israel. Moses was of course a mighty man of God used to deliver Israel from bondage in Egypt. His life, times, and actions are quite familiar to the reader of Scripture. Balaam on the other hand is perhaps best known for his incident with his donkey. While Balaam is likely not considered a man of God, he nevertheless was used by God for a divine purpose and it was indeed interesting to read the overview of Balaam provided by Matthews, a definite plus for this particular section.
Matthews next engages the prophets of the early monarchic period such as Samuel, Nathan, and Ahijah. The prophet Samuel is certainly the most well known of the three main prophets of this period. The statement by Matthews that like Moses, Samuel “functions as a transitional figure representing both the anarchic period of the judges and the emergent period of chiefdoms and kings” is an extremely important point to understand. Given the movement from the book of Judges to I Samuel, it is arguably lost on many of how this was a rather transitional and transformative period in the history of Israel. Samuel was not only a prophet of God. He was also the last judge of Israel before the institution of the monarchy beginning with King Saul. Even with the institution of the monarchy, God still used the prophets to relay His commands to the kings. So despite their being an anointed king of Israel, those anointed rulers were still required to “bow not only to God’s command but also to the directives of God’s representative”, such as Samuel, Nathan, or Ahijah. Anyone who has read the account of King Saul in I Samuel certainly recognizes his inability to grasp the fact he still needed to obey God and to heed the directives of God’s representative, the prophet.
The prophets Elijah and Elisha are another set of well known prophetic figures. Elijah in particular did battle with King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel as well as the prophets of Baal, a system of worship that had driven Israel from worshiping the one true God. Matthews provides a plethora of valuable analysis of the contest on Mount Carmel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, information that is often overlooked and under analyzed. For example, he notes the presence of a “political dimension since it (the contest between Baal and God as well as Mount Carmel) provides the stage for a magnificent public display of divine power that has the potential to either enhance the king’s power or radically diminish it in the minds of the people.” Yet another interesting element is the background of Elijah’s taunt of Baal and the prophets that served that deity. Matthews saliently comments that taunt “takes its cue from Mesopotamian epic literature. In both the tales of Atrahasis and the story of Enki and Ninmah, a sleeping deity must be awakened to deal with a growing calamity.” This stands in stark contrast to the God of Israel who never sleeps nor slumbers. Truly a fascinating element of the life of Elijah that Matthews expertly provides.
The remainder of the book contains an analysis and overview of the Major and Minor Prophets. In each chapter, Matthews discusses the time period in which each of these prophets ministered, who the recipient of their message was, and the major themes that can be found in their respective prophetic books. This was truly some excellent information demonstrating Dr. Matthews’ level of knowledge of areas that are of tremendous importance to understanding what exactly the prophets were talking about. Other than the Major Prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel and arguably Minor Prophets such as Hosea and Jonah, many believers are quite unfamiliar with the remainder of the message of the OT prophets, when they lived or who they were speaking to. I found this section to be extremely helpful and quite frankly, I learned a lot of valuable information that was new to me, despite taking undergraduate and graduate level courses on the OT prophets as a whole and specific OT prophetic books such as Isaiah and Daniel.
As if the overall approach of this book was not excellent enough, Matthews provides a helpful glossary of terms which will greatly help the reader understand important concepts found within those terms so they may properly use them as they study what truly constitutes a majority of the OT.
The Hebrew Prophets and Their Social World by Dr. Victor Matthews is a welcome addition to the study of the OT. Anyone who desires to dig deeper into the world and background of the OT prophets and the OT prophetic books should take note of this book. It is information, in-depth, scholarly yet accessible and a valuable tool for the scholar and layman alike.
I received this for free from Baker Academic for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
As Matthews rightly notes in the introduction of this book, “when prophets speak, they do so within the social, economic, and historical context of their own time. They are primarily concerned either with current events or recent happenings, and not the far future.” Now a student of Scripture may correctly comment the prophets also spoke about events that have yet to take place and they would be correct. With that said, one must be sure to begin their exegesis of the prophets and their works within the context of the milieu in which the prophets lived. Once that understanding has been established, it is then the exegete can utilize the entirety of Scripture to analyze whether the words of God spoken through the prophets were directed to that immediate time, a future context of both.
Dr. Matthews first guides the reader through an analysis of biblical geography, noting the importance for the reader to “Keep in mind that when the prophets mention a geographic site or feature, they are generally describing a place that they and their audience know intimately.” He spends the majority of this chapter familiarizing the reader with the specifics of the ancient Near East (ANE) to include an overview of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syria-Palestine. Matthews provides an enormous amount of details for the reader to include travel routes, geographical markers, and various cultural nuances that bear great importance for the student of the Hebrew prophets. While this material may seem a bit “dry”, understanding this information is vital in order to understand the time and places the Hebrew prophets live and shared their message. As Matthews aptly states, “Because the prophets constantly refer to geographical regions, cities, and landmarks, a basic knowledge of these features is essential for anyone who studies their words and writings.”
So how does one define and/or describe what a prophet of the ANE is? This is another important question to answer and define in light of passages such as Deuteronomy 18:22 which states “when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” Matthews advises the reader that most, if not all of the ANE nations utilized the services of diviners or priests who attempted to ascertain the will of the gods. He also notes the various ways in which individuals in Scripture performed the office of the prophet. Characters such as Moses, Aaron, and Samuel for example were called prophets although most would not equate those individuals as declaring prophetic words in the same manner as perhaps Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Hosea. Furthermore, in this section Matthews provides a wealth of valuable information in regards to how the prophets functioned within the framework of Israelite society in particular, their relationship to the monarchy. Given prophets such as Elijah regularly declared the word of the Lord to the Kings of Israel and Judah who were leading their people astray, it is important to understand the role of the prophet, who they are, and how to identify them, all of which Matthews does a masterful job of outlining for the reader in a comprehensive and salient manner.
Moving from establishing a fundamental understanding of who the prophets were, what their function was, and how God used them to declare His word to the people, Matthews then moves into a detailed discussion of the prophets themselves, beginning with the premonarchic prophetic period (i.e. the period prior to the establishment of the monarchy). Matthews not only covers the prophets of God such as Moses, he also provides an overview of Balaam. The discussion of Balaam provides an interesting contrast given the different roles Moses and Balaam play in the course of their impact on Israel. Moses was of course a mighty man of God used to deliver Israel from bondage in Egypt. His life, times, and actions are quite familiar to the reader of Scripture. Balaam on the other hand is perhaps best known for his incident with his donkey. While Balaam is likely not considered a man of God, he nevertheless was used by God for a divine purpose and it was indeed interesting to read the overview of Balaam provided by Matthews, a definite plus for this particular section.
Matthews next engages the prophets of the early monarchic period such as Samuel, Nathan, and Ahijah. The prophet Samuel is certainly the most well known of the three main prophets of this period. The statement by Matthews that like Moses, Samuel “functions as a transitional figure representing both the anarchic period of the judges and the emergent period of chiefdoms and kings” is an extremely important point to understand. Given the movement from the book of Judges to I Samuel, it is arguably lost on many of how this was a rather transitional and transformative period in the history of Israel. Samuel was not only a prophet of God. He was also the last judge of Israel before the institution of the monarchy beginning with King Saul. Even with the institution of the monarchy, God still used the prophets to relay His commands to the kings. So despite their being an anointed king of Israel, those anointed rulers were still required to “bow not only to God’s command but also to the directives of God’s representative”, such as Samuel, Nathan, or Ahijah. Anyone who has read the account of King Saul in I Samuel certainly recognizes his inability to grasp the fact he still needed to obey God and to heed the directives of God’s representative, the prophet.
The prophets Elijah and Elisha are another set of well known prophetic figures. Elijah in particular did battle with King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel as well as the prophets of Baal, a system of worship that had driven Israel from worshiping the one true God. Matthews provides a plethora of valuable analysis of the contest on Mount Carmel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, information that is often overlooked and under analyzed. For example, he notes the presence of a “political dimension since it (the contest between Baal and God as well as Mount Carmel) provides the stage for a magnificent public display of divine power that has the potential to either enhance the king’s power or radically diminish it in the minds of the people.” Yet another interesting element is the background of Elijah’s taunt of Baal and the prophets that served that deity. Matthews saliently comments that taunt “takes its cue from Mesopotamian epic literature. In both the tales of Atrahasis and the story of Enki and Ninmah, a sleeping deity must be awakened to deal with a growing calamity.” This stands in stark contrast to the God of Israel who never sleeps nor slumbers. Truly a fascinating element of the life of Elijah that Matthews expertly provides.
The remainder of the book contains an analysis and overview of the Major and Minor Prophets. In each chapter, Matthews discusses the time period in which each of these prophets ministered, who the recipient of their message was, and the major themes that can be found in their respective prophetic books. This was truly some excellent information demonstrating Dr. Matthews’ level of knowledge of areas that are of tremendous importance to understanding what exactly the prophets were talking about. Other than the Major Prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel and arguably Minor Prophets such as Hosea and Jonah, many believers are quite unfamiliar with the remainder of the message of the OT prophets, when they lived or who they were speaking to. I found this section to be extremely helpful and quite frankly, I learned a lot of valuable information that was new to me, despite taking undergraduate and graduate level courses on the OT prophets as a whole and specific OT prophetic books such as Isaiah and Daniel.
As if the overall approach of this book was not excellent enough, Matthews provides a helpful glossary of terms which will greatly help the reader understand important concepts found within those terms so they may properly use them as they study what truly constitutes a majority of the OT.
The Hebrew Prophets and Their Social World by Dr. Victor Matthews is a welcome addition to the study of the OT. Anyone who desires to dig deeper into the world and background of the OT prophets and the OT prophetic books should take note of this book. It is information, in-depth, scholarly yet accessible and a valuable tool for the scholar and layman alike.
I received this for free from Baker Academic for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
May 2, 2020
This is a truly worthwhile accompaniment to any study of the Hebrew Scriptures. It focuses on what the world was like, what social mores were like, in the surroundings of these writings in their time. Well researched, and laid out.
October 19, 2013
Helpful intro. Not the most engaging book, though.
March 15, 2018
In this book, Matthews provides an introductory look at the hebrew prophets. He begins by explaining what a prophet is and is not. After defining a prophet, he begins his analysis of the Hebrew prophets with Moses and proceeds chronologically through the Old Testament. His analysis includes the background of each prophet, a summary of their contribution to scripture, and the social context that influenced their life and writings.
Victor Matthews has provided a great introductory look of each prophet as well as a summary of their written material in scripture. Given the title of the book, Hebrew Prophets and Their Social World, I was not entirely sure what to expect for content. Although he was very thorough at covering each prophet, there seemed to be an extraordinary amount of summarizing of biblical content. The amount of analysis given to the social influence seemed to contribute a very small portion to this book, much less than I had anticipated. One detractor was the lack of citations in his text. Because he includes a significant amount of summarizing of biblical text, background information, and interpretative opinion, citations would aid in verifying his thoughts. He also expressed his opinion throughout the book. Ordinarily I would not mind this so much but he provided no way to substantiate his views either in the text or through citations.
I would use this book as a quick reference for background information regarding a particular prophet, but would be unlikely to use it for scholarly work. It would also serve as a great introduction to the prophets for individuals that had not studied the prophets. If you are quite familiar with the prophets, this book may not add a lot to your understanding.
I gave the book three stars because I was slightly disappointed with the content. I do a lot of reading and studying so I was expecting more than this book delivered. If you are new to studying the prophets, I would highly recommend this book.
Victor Matthews has provided a great introductory look of each prophet as well as a summary of their written material in scripture. Given the title of the book, Hebrew Prophets and Their Social World, I was not entirely sure what to expect for content. Although he was very thorough at covering each prophet, there seemed to be an extraordinary amount of summarizing of biblical content. The amount of analysis given to the social influence seemed to contribute a very small portion to this book, much less than I had anticipated. One detractor was the lack of citations in his text. Because he includes a significant amount of summarizing of biblical text, background information, and interpretative opinion, citations would aid in verifying his thoughts. He also expressed his opinion throughout the book. Ordinarily I would not mind this so much but he provided no way to substantiate his views either in the text or through citations.
I would use this book as a quick reference for background information regarding a particular prophet, but would be unlikely to use it for scholarly work. It would also serve as a great introduction to the prophets for individuals that had not studied the prophets. If you are quite familiar with the prophets, this book may not add a lot to your understanding.
I gave the book three stars because I was slightly disappointed with the content. I do a lot of reading and studying so I was expecting more than this book delivered. If you are new to studying the prophets, I would highly recommend this book.
November 11, 2012
An excellent contextual introduction to the prophets of the Hebrew Bible.
The author describes the function and role of the prophet in Israel based upon what is found in the Old Testament as well as ancient Near Eastern parallels. He describes the work of the early prophets based on what is recorded of them in the historical books of the Old Testament, and then systematically discusses the messages of the written prophets in terms of their original audiences.
On the whole this book does a great job of introducing the reader to the Hebrew prophets in their context, which is quite useful and necessary in light of how often the prophets are read and discussed only as they relate to later characters and events.
The author does break Isaiah up into First, Second, and Third Isaiah sections, and breaks Zechariah up into two sections as well. He understands Daniel only in terms of the Hellenistic period, and his conclusions about Malachi in terms of idolatry and sexual immorality seem strained and textually unjustified. The author unduly focuses on Christian expectation of later fulfillment of prophecy without noting how prevalent such was as a means of interpreting the prophets among Jewish communities in the first centuries BCE/CE as well.
Having said all of that, the book is still very much worth consideration in order to come to a better contextual understanding of the Hebrew prophets.
**--book received as early review edition
The author describes the function and role of the prophet in Israel based upon what is found in the Old Testament as well as ancient Near Eastern parallels. He describes the work of the early prophets based on what is recorded of them in the historical books of the Old Testament, and then systematically discusses the messages of the written prophets in terms of their original audiences.
On the whole this book does a great job of introducing the reader to the Hebrew prophets in their context, which is quite useful and necessary in light of how often the prophets are read and discussed only as they relate to later characters and events.
The author does break Isaiah up into First, Second, and Third Isaiah sections, and breaks Zechariah up into two sections as well. He understands Daniel only in terms of the Hellenistic period, and his conclusions about Malachi in terms of idolatry and sexual immorality seem strained and textually unjustified. The author unduly focuses on Christian expectation of later fulfillment of prophecy without noting how prevalent such was as a means of interpreting the prophets among Jewish communities in the first centuries BCE/CE as well.
Having said all of that, the book is still very much worth consideration in order to come to a better contextual understanding of the Hebrew prophets.
**--book received as early review edition
April 8, 2015
A decent introduction to the Prophets. The author is in the lines of early 20th century liberalism and so is a bit enslaved to the mindset. He makes quite a few assumptions with nary a defense (Jews didn't believe in resurrection until the Hellenistic period, Israel was never intended to be missional, etc.) which show his indebtedness to a critical approach to the OT. However, his ANE background information is jolly well right ho (sorry I was reading this and Wodehouse simultaneously)! I would suggest it for someone that is interested in the "social world" aspect and not so much the "The Hebrew Prophets" aspect.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews